The Republic of India is one of four powerful non-aligned nations. Bordering Persia in the west and China to the northeast, they began practicing neutrality after finishing their part of the Islamic Jihad. They have colonized a small number of systems, maintain a small navy, and keep to themselves as much as possible. They do not ignore the outside universe. They simply see no need to compete with us. They feel secure. It makes them interesting to deal with.
Ken was my wingman back when we first started. He was Free Japanese. His great grandparents made it out before the fall, and he grew up surfing the California coasts. We called him Buckaroo Banno. But you probably know this already if you read our diaries. He was a good man, a good friend, and I will always miss him. He will forever be known as Crane, as Cowboy Six, and to me as one of the many friends I owe my life to.
Orbiting the Alcyone system’s fifth star, Gateway was the first Western Alliance colony in the Pleiades Cluster. It was also the farthest colony from Terra we’d ever built. Designed to act as our embassy to the Peloran, we constructed it as a monument to Western civilization and sent our best and brightest on the four-year flight to the system. They built a colony we could all be proud of, a veritable Garden of Eden in the distant frontiers of space.
When The War ended, everyone came home. Soldiers, sailors, spacemen, and marines. After twenty years of War, all of our warriors came home. Old New York partied for an entire year, a celebration that never ended. Ticker tape parades, concerts, and more. As all things do though, the celebrations came to an end, and we all had to learn how to live again. That was the most difficult mission we ever committed to. Life after War.
The Persians are a powerful non-aligned power. They are one of the most ancient civilizations on Earth. They say the oldest. They have ruled the known world, and been ruled by it. They have seen civilizations rise and fall. They have survived every occupation of their land, Greek, Mongol, and even Islam, and risen again. Other young upstarts come and go with the wind, but Persia will stand for all time. They are the superior culture. Such is their mindset.